Sick building syndrome

There is nowadays no single fully satisfactory method for VOC removal from indoor air due to the difficulties linked to the very low concentration (μg m − 3 range), diversity, and variability at which VOCs are typically found in the indoor environment. Although biological methods have shown a certain potential for this purpose, the specific characteristic of indoor air and the indoor air environment brings numerous challenges. In particular, new methods must be developed to inoculate, express, and maintain a suitable and diverse catabolic ability under conditions of trace substrate concentration which might not sustain microbial growth. In addition, the biological treatment of indoor air must be able to purify large amounts of air in confined environments with minimal nuisances and release of microorganisms. This requires technical innovations, the development of specific testing protocols and a deep understanding of microbial activities and the mechanisms of substrate uptake at trace concentrations.

The development of liveable space made from shipping containers becomes a trend even in Malaysia with the hot and humid climate persisting throughout the year. For sustaining the indoor comfort, building insulation is well adapted to increase thermal resistance and reduce the dependency on the mechanical cooling systems. The prospective of a shipping container as an efficient construction material and bamboo as a sustainable insulation material is well documented but basic information on the internal environment that has an impact on a person, particularly risk potential towards sick building syndrome (SBS) has been absent. Therefore, the measurements of both indoor and outdoor temperatures, relative humidity and CO2 concentration with two different conditions were done by using different sets of data loggers for at least 70 days under each condition. The first condition is a bare unit of the shipping container and followed by the installation of untreated bamboo as insulation for the second condition. This research reveals that high temperatures were recorded up to 40°C in both conditions and untreated bamboo as insulation increased the relative humidity levels up to the maximum, 100%. The mean values of CO2 concentration are in the range of 1,869 ppm to 2,938 ppm and they reach up to 5,000 ppm at the most of the intervals, indicating a significant contribution to SBS. The condition of the equatorial climate denies the compatibility of the shipping container to be used as the building material of liveable space. The quality and treatment of the bamboo must be the ultimate priority.

The scientific literature through 2005 on the effects of ventilation rates on health in indoor environments has been reviewed by a multidisciplinary group. The group judged 27 papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals as providing sufficient information on both ventilation rates and health effects to inform the relationship. Consistency was found across multiple investigations and different epidemiologic designs for different populations. Multiple health endpoints show similar relationships with ventilation rate. There is biological plausibility for an association of health outcomes with ventilation rates, although the literature does not provide clear evidence on particular agent(s) for the effects. Higher ventilation rates in offices, up to about 25 l/s per person, are associated with reduced prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms. The limited available data suggest that inflammation, respiratory infections, asthma symptoms and short-term sick leave increase with lower ventilation rates. Home ventilation rates above 0.5 air changes per hour (h )1 ) have been associated with a reduced risk of allergic manifestations among children in a Nordic climate. The need remains for more studies of the relationship between ventilation rates and health, especially in diverse climates, in locations with polluted outdoor air and in buildings other than offices.

The outbreak of a highly communicable disease, SARS, in Asia in 2003 has revealed the health risk of living in a high-density environment. To show the important connection between human health and environmental quality, this study surveys the prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) in apartment buildings and occupants' evaluation of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Based on a sample of 748 households living in Hong Kong, two interesting findings are revealed: 1) nose discomfort was the commonest home-related SBS symptom despite the absence of any central ventilation system in apartment buildings; 2) noise, rather than ventilation, was the major IEQ problem perceived by residents. Our statistical analysis further showed that residents with SBS symptoms were less satisfied with their IEQ than those without. That is, even if residents were satisfied with specific IEQ criteria, the overall IEQ could still be unsatisfactory to respondents with self-reported SBS symptoms. This perception bias gives rise to a sample selection problem in measuring perceived IEQ, which has implications on housing management practices and the formulation of a healthy housing policy.

Mechanical exhaust ventilation system is typical in apartment buildings in Finland. In most buildings the base floor between the first floor apartments and crawl space is not air tight. As the apartments have lower pressure than the crawl space due to ventilation, contaminated air may flow from the crawl space to the apartments. The object of this study was to find out whether a potential air flow from crawl space has an influence on the indoor air quality. The results show that in most cases the concentration of fungal spores was clearly higher in the crawl space than inside the building. The size distribution of fungal spores depended on the fungal species. Correlation between the fungal spores in the crawl space and indoors varied with microbial species. Some species have sources inside the building, which confounds the possible relation between crawl pace and indoor concentrations. Some species, such as Acremonium, do not normally have a source indoors, but its concentration in the crawl space was elevated; our measurements showed also elevated concentrations of Acremonium in the air of the apartments. This consistent finding shows a clear linkage between fungal spores in the indoor air and crawl space. We conclude that a building with a crawl space and pressure difference over the base floor could be a potential risk for indoor air quality in the first floor apartments.

Introduction: Over the past two decades, numerous studies on indoor air and the Sick Building Syndrome
(SBS) have been conducted, mostly in office environments. However, there is little knowledge about SBS in
police officers. This study was aimed to fill this gap.
Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 2016 at the Triveneto Penitentiary Center,
Northern Italy. Chi-square was used to test the difference of prevalence between office workers (OWs)
and correctional officers (COs) of personal characteristics, cases of SBS, and general and mucocutaneous
symptoms associated with SBS. A binary logistic regression was used to identify among individual, environmental,
and psychosocial characteristics, factors associated with correctional officers’ Sick Building
Syndrome.
Results: Chi-squared analyses revealed that there were statistically significant differences in the estimated
prevalence of SBS general symptoms (χ2
(1) = 12.22, P < .05), SBS mucocutaneous symptoms (χ2
(1) = 9.04,
P < .05), and cases of SBS (χ2
(1) = 4.39, P <.05) between COs and OWs. COs reported that their health
had been affected by the passive smoking (ϐ = 2.34, P < .05) and unpleasant odour (ϐ = 2.51, P < .05) as
environmental risk factors; work-family conflict (ϐ = 2.14, P < .05), psychological and physical isolation (ϐ
= 2.07, P < .05), and negative public image (ϐ = 2.06, P < .05) as psychosocial risk factors. Finally, atopy (ϐ =
2.02, P < .05) and to be current smoker (ϐ = 2.02, P < .05) were statistically significant behavioral predictors
of SBS among correctional officers.
Discussion: Our survey showed that symptoms compatible with the sick building syndrome are common
in correctional officers and that psychosocial work climate and exposure to passive smoking could have a
strong influence on the prevalence of both general and mucocutaneous symptoms associated with SBS. A
health policy for passive tobacco smoking within prisons, and for work-related stress management among
COs could improve occupational wellness and decrease potential SBS symptoms among COs.